New Delhi: At least 69 tigers, most of them victims of poaching and accidents, have died in the last nine months in the country, National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) said on Friday.

"Around 69 tigers have died from January to September in 41 tiger reserves in the country. Of these, 41 died of poaching and accidents while 28 were natural deaths," Rajiv Sharma, assistant inspector general of NTCA, said.

The mortality was high in Uttarakhand, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka. According to official count, now there are only 1,706 tigers left in the country.